Adina Sommer
Antique and Contemporary Art
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80797 München
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Adina Sommer`s Rare Antique Maps and Contemporary Art
Austriae descript
| Article ID | EUA972 |
| Artist | Ortelius (1527-1598) |
| Abraham Ortelius, (1527 - 1598) Antwerp, comes from an Augsburg family and was born in Antwerp, Spain, where he lived throughout his life. After thorough training, he joined the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke in 1547 as a card painter. In 1554 he took over an antiquarian bookshop that mainly deals with the coloring, distribution and publishing of maps. Basically he is more of a publisher than a scholar. And so he also made the acquaintance of another great man of his time, Gerhard Mercator (1512-1594), who encouraged him to draw cards and to make maps of the most varied of countries. His first cartographic work of his own is a large 8-sheet map of the world that appears in Antwerp in 1564. This is followed by a two-sheet map of Egypt (1565) and another of Asia (1567). The great achievement of Ortelius, who was one of the most famous European cartographers of his time, and the enthusiastic reception of his theater, mark a decisive turning point in the history of the world map. The new path is mapped out with the Theatrum. For the general view of the world, the appearance of Ortelius-Theatrum is important insofar as it emphatically confirms that America is a completely independent continent, which is also not connected to the Asian mainland mass at its northern tip. Ortelius was the first to come up with the idea of producing a handy collection of reliable maps, all kept in the same format and only by the same author for each country. These sheets could also be bound into a book for easy storage and use. Mercator, who also realized the idea of a world atlas from 1569, persuaded his friend to publish the famous Theatrum Orbis Terrarrum. Ortelius collected, traveled, corresponded and negotiated for 10 years before he could have his work printed in the best European printing house (Plantijn / Amsterdam). In addition to technical difficulties, Ortelius had to submit to the political / religious conditions, since maps were also subject to strict scrutiny during the Inquisition. Biblical scenes are pleasant, portraits of outstanding Catholics are welcome, but not family coats of arms or other emblems that could be politically suspect. On May 20, 1570, his first edition of the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first collection of maps in book form, was published, financed and edited by Gillis Hooftman, an Antwerp merchant, banker and shipowner. Atlases did not yet have this name at that time. This collection was published between 1570 and 1612 in 42 editions and in 7 languages: Latin, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, English and Italian. Unlike his professional colleagues, he clearly referenced the sources of his maps and texts. The work contains, among other things, an illustration of the world known until 1492 and was therefore already looking back at the time the map was created. | |
| Title | Austriae descript |
| Year | ca. 1595 |
| Description | Map shows the total eastern part of Austria |
| The name Austria is first handed down in its Old High German form Ostarrichi from the year 996. The Latin form Austria was also used. In 1156 Austria became an independent duchy in the Holy Roman Empire. After the Babenbergs died out in 1246, the House of Habsburg prevailed in the struggle for rule in Austria. The area designated as Austria later included the entire Habsburg Monarchy and later the Austrian Empire, which was constituted in 1804, and the Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy established in 1867. The present republic came into being in 1918. | |
| Place of Publication | Antwerp |
| Dimensions (cm) | 35 x 48 |
| Condition | Very good |
| Coloring | original colored |
| Technique | Copper print |
Reproduction:
60.00 €
( A reproduction can be ordered individually on request. )